Regardless of everything, you need to read the book pictured above.
My man Josh Nason of Ring, Ropes and Cage has become my personal Yoda when it comes to expanding my knowledge-base and understanding of the world I'm trying to break into, and I have to say that as good as On Writing was, Crush It!, well, crushed it.
This book is going to change my life, and I say that without any asterisks, hyperbole or pretenses.
Basically, this book not only confirmed all the fundamental beliefs I had about my passion for Mixed Martial Arts and the opportunity I have to make a career out of it, but also delivered a blueprint for how to do that.
What makes it even crazier is that a number of the steps and strategies are the little things that I already do, like Facebook the bejesus out of everything I write, and tweeting all my posts...
Gary Vaynerchuk - the author - has instantly launched to the top of my "Awesome People I Know About That You've Never Heard of Before" list, though I recommend you go out and get familiar with him.
D'you know how we all show up at work grumpy that we have to be there? We don't have to, and I'm not going to, thanks to Gary Vaynerchuk, Josh Nason and the dedication and passion I have to make my career something I enjoy, and not just a means to an end.
I give a lot of random advice on this blog, but if you've never listened to anything I've said before, listen to this: read Crush It!
The damn thing is only 130-pages long and cost under $25... and could change your life.
If you don't believe me, keep watching and see for yourself.
Monday, January 18, 2010
2010: The Year I Begin to Crush It!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Things I Learned This Week
1. Write for Love, Let the Money Come Later
After spending a good number of months building up a readership at a couple different sites, I put them on the back burner to pursue a job with Heavy.com for the lone reason that they were going to pay me.
Ten weeks later, I was dropped via email... without ever receiving a check. I've been assured it's coming, and take solace in the fact that the continuing staff there have yet to receive their pay either, but it made me realize something.
I write because I love it and that needs to be the motivation. Ironically enough, I finished Stephen King's On Writing last night, and d'you know what the final message of the book was?
"I write because I love it, not because of the money."
2. If You Hear "No Disrespect," Expect an Insult to Follow
I'm as guilty on this one as the next guy, as I use the line, "no disrespect to (insert fighter)" fairly frequently, following it up with some statement about how the inserted fighter isn't up to par or a legitimate contender.
It's as if we think that offering up that precursor gives us the ability to say whatever the hell we want about someone. They no I don't mean it disrespectfully, so saying they look like a total jackass / have the talents of a trained chimpanzee / smell a little south of god-awful is okay...
No it isn't, and I hereby pledge to remove that phrase from my vocabulary.
3. I Love My Non-Paying Jobs
The one that pays me - picking produce orders for 35-40 hours a week at Islands West - isn't all that bad, but the pair that put little no money in my pocket on a regular basis are great.
After the whole Heavy debacle, I joined forces with the guys over at Five Knuckles. They had been syndicating my work from Keyboard Kimura for a while, have a great community and believe in my talents to help propel their site to bigger and better.
What really has me stoked is my role with Armageddon Fighting Championships. While I don't really have a defined title, I'm doing all kinds of different things, like hunting down sponsors, lining up media exposure, and building Fan Pages on Facebook.
Yes - you need to join.
Kind of ties in with the first thought of today - enjoy the work, do a good job and the returns will come in time.
4. Victoria Kicks Everywhere Else's Ass
It's January 17 and I plan on wearing shorts today. Not because I want to see if I can brave the harsh outdoors with my pasty white lower limbs, but because it's around 10 degrees, nice and sunny and there is very little wind.
Additionally, not having to shovel... awesome! Yes, it rains, but d'you know what? Rain at five, six or seven degrees is so superior to snow and ice and bullshit at some god-awful temperature well below freezing.
I've enjoyed everywhere I've lived over the years - 13 cities, 31 addresses in 31 years - but Victoria takes the cake.
5. So I Never Told You My New Year's Resolutions
Thanks for sticking around... and Happy Sunday!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Creativity is Dead (Yes, I'm Going There Again!)
I meant to address this a long time ago, but WTF is Ellen Degeneres doing as a judge on American Idol? I was under the impression it was a singing competition and therefore having individuals with experience and knowledge of the music industry would be beneficial.
The answer to my perplexed question is that Ellen is a ratings boost and that is really all that matters to Fox and the Idol team. Who cares that she will have no actual technical insights to offer, thereby perfectly filling the vacated shoes of Paula Abdul.
In the bigger picture of things, this is another indication that creativity is currently taking a dirt nap.
The initial incarnation of Idol was outstanding because it was new and fresh. As we roll towards season ten, the only thing new and fresh about the show is Degeneres, who will most likely just be the host of the Ellen Show sitting in a chair on Idol. I look forward to Simon wondering what is wrong with her when she gets up mid-song to begin dancing through the crowd.
Minor Idol reboots aren't the only indication of creativity being on hiatus in Hollywood. In addition to the multitude of mindless reality shows that are flooding the airwaves - if you have more the six kids, TLC will give you a show - to the rash of vampire / occult-ish inventions popping up everywhere, originality is no longer a prerequisite for programming.
The ironic thing about all this is that the level of talent trending towards the small screen is greater than ever; more and more accomplished and credible actors are ready to make the move to television thanks to stalled box office numbers and shrunken salaries, but the vehicles they're offered are CSI: Atlanta and NCIS: Los Angeles.
But it's not as if movie execs are helping the situation any either, with further installments of already dead franchises - they're making another National Lampoon's Vacation movie - and the always popular "reboot" like the one being offered up to Predator, the majority of the material is either formulaic or forgettable.
Nothing like another romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock and / or Ryan Reynolds to drive people into the theatres...
With few appealing options out there, people are going to have to start reading for pleasure again.
D'you hear that Hollywood?
You're making people read!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Rundown: While I Wait
I actually did it.
Yesterday afternoon, I sat at this computer and sent off 13 query emails to literary agencies to see if they were interested in being interested in my book. Now, I wait.
If you know me at all, you know that patience isn't one of my virtues. In fact, I think I've written about my ridiculous lack of said virtue here before. That means this next six to eight week stretch is going to be awful trying and I apologize to Sarah in advance for being a neurotic jackass who checks his email 497 additional times a day (for a grand total of 872) just in case someone got back to me.
Clearly, I'm going to need things to occupy my time. I'll run them down after the jump...
Top 5 Distractions to Keep Me From Checking My Email
5. Freecell
I've actually started with this one and have racked up 10 consecutive wins - without "undoing" a bunch of shitty moves to help myself either. I can usually get through four or five games before I am bored and itching to check Hotmail, so this one will be the early morning / late at night distraction.
4. Work
I never thought I would say this, but thankfully I have to be at Kelsey's a great deal over the next month. If I'm there than I can't be here checking my email. Of course, I have my phone synced up to my email account and I can certainly check it there, but hopefully I'll be too busy to remember.
3. Luke
The little tyrant is going to be getting walked and wrestled with more than he had ever imagined in the next couple weeks. A trip out with Cool Hand Luke can last 30 minutes easy and far more if we go for an "off the leash" trek somewhere, while "The Bite Game" is another solid 15 minutes of pre-occupation for the both of us. Any time I'm not in this chair is time I'm not checking my Inbox.
2. Writing
I know - if I'm writing, I'm sitting at the computer and that is like leaving a case of beer in front of an alcoholic. I get that, but I also know that a lot of the time when I sit down to write, I lose myself in what I am doing and nothing else matters. Besides, the more time I spend writing, the more months I can knock off the "Completed manuscript can be submitted within..." section of the proposal and something tells me a quick turnaround will help sell this book.
1. Reading
I can't believe I haven't read a single book since we've been back from the Dominican. Not one. Granted, the only bookstore around seems to carry absolutely nothing of value or interest and I doubt the Kimberley library is packed with titles I'm looking for, but still. I gotta get my hands on Forrest Griffin's Got Fight? and go from there. Anyone interested in helping preserve my sanity who would like to ship it to me, drop me a line and I'll get you the address.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
10 Things I Learned This Week
Have no fear, Albert is here!
1. Fight! Magazine is Still Happening
Apparently, the holidays being busy makes Editors-in-Chief of major magazines forget about small-time whiny readers who are looking for work. After one email and a quick phone call, my parcel of back issues to correct are in the mail and I'll be getting started this week.
2. Loving - repeat LOVING - the New Gig
Started taking baby steps towards crossing over into Editor-dom myself this week and have to say that I love the process and look forward to February 1 when we go full throttle. It's going to be a lot of work and take some serious time and energy, but as I've been saying this whole writing ride, I'd rather put in big effort and big hours on stuff that I love and believe in than anything else.
3. Ari-freakin'-zona!
Can you believe the Arizona MF'in Cardinals might win the Super Bowl? This is insane. Not that they haven't played pretty damn good these playoffs, but at the start of the year you never would have picked the Cardinals. Even if you were Kurt Warner's crazy-ass wife. Now they're one win away from winning the whole shebang. Crazy...
4. Welcome to the White House, President Obama
The President-Elect drops the "Elect" in a couple of days and I am glad that I will be around to see it. This is truly a monumental and historic event that will be taking place, one that we'll be teaching in history books someday and it will be the only thing on in the bar on Tuesday with good reason.
5. Wedding Headaches Subsiding
This week has been more productive on the wedding front than the last four months and that is a testament to our new agent. All the invoices are done and proofed and ready to go and we should have everything and everyone lined up and ready to roll in the next three days. Funny how getting pissed a couple rungs up the ladder makes everything happen a little more quickly...
6. Luke is His Mother's Dog
They two of them could probably sleep for 24 hours straight if you let them. In fact, with Sarah being off all through the week this week, I'd wager that over the three days they're off together without me around, they get in at least 30 hours of sleep. Updates later in the week.
7. So the Old Man Called Me...
Just weird having my phone ring and it be him, seeing as the last three times we talked were at funerals and totally awkward interactions. I think I said six or eight words. So strange, so sad...
8. It's Already Been One Year
Thursday marks a year since Heath Ledger's death. That's crazy to me. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I found out - Wexford Street apartment, putting away the groceries after work. Funny how some things just stick in your head.
9. Wanted: One Good Book
With no Chapters to speak of in a 100 kilometre radius, I've been reduced to checking out a very small Coles in the crappy Cranbrook mall from time to time when I want something to read. Unsurprisingly, they got nothing... so I'm asking you folks to fill me in on some quality literature that I can go find and enjoy. Homework is due by the end of the week.
10. Joaquin Phoenix is a Rapper?
I knew he had "retired" from acting to pursue music, but hip hop? That would have been the last place I would have expected the man who brought Johnny Cash to life on the silver screen to end up. Punk, country, rock, sure... hip hop? I've gotta find his stuff somewhere on the 'net and give it a listen.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Rundown: Book It
In looking back over the numerous Rundown's we've shared together in the year and change I've been writing them and you've been reading them, I realized that I have skipped out on one major, major Rundown.
My Favourite Books.
See, I consider it major because reading is what turned me on to writing. I was always decent enough at it in school and once considered pursuing an English degree in University, but that never happened and entry into the working world involved shaking hands and settling disputes, not writing essays on the character interactions in King Lear or my views on abortion.
But that foray into the world of customer service did provide two important components that led to where we are today - a bunch of disposable income and fairly decent amounts of time off to lay around the house doing nothing.
In my case, nothing often meant playing PlayStation 2 and watching movies, but sometimes it meant reading.
One of the books I read during those years changed my life and started me down the path we're on together today. The gentlemen pictured above who looks like a Gap mannequin is to blame...
Top Five Books
5. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
I know it was partially fabricated and Oprah hates him, but I'm not a suburban housewife so I don't have to do everything that Oprah tells me. Outside of the controversy, this is an incredibly powerful work. The way it's written in disjointed sentences, more staccato than prose and the violent, vivid images that Frey creates for the readers hook you in to the point that you don't want to put the book down for a minute. The book about overcoming addiction becomes your addiction. At least it did for me.
4. Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley
The movie also made my Favourite Movie list a while back, so you had to know that I was a major fan of the source material. This one goes along with the longstanding belief that the book is always better than the movie. As outstanding as the film was - and don't kid yourself, it was outstanding - the book is even better in delivering more background on protagonist Nick Naylor, his insane boss B.R. and his relationships with his family, his friends and a back-stabbing bitch that never really showed up in the movie. This one got me through my stint at the Marine Atlantic Ferry Terminal.
3. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff
I actually read this book because I love the author's brother - Zach Braff, he of Scrubs and Garden State fame. Thankfully, incredible talent is a trait both Braff boys hold (as does their sister...) as Joshua crafts a beautiful tale of a young Jewish boy growing up with some truly unthinkable thoughts. As I write this, I'm eagerly awaiting Braff's next effort because if it's anything like Jacob Green, it'll be on the next incarnation of this list.
2. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
This is the fictional version of "That's me!" Hornby's Rob Fleming - later turned into Rob Gordon and dumped in Chicago by Cusack & Co for the outstanding film version - encompasses everything that I am and everything that I was at the time I read the book. He has no idea what to do with his life, I had no idea what to do with my life. He was a moron with women, I was a moron with women. In the end, it worked all worked out... for the both of us.
1. Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
This is the non-fiction version of "That's me!" Everything Klosterman put down into words in this collection hit on something I had thought at one point or another in my life. And we're not talking brilliant, Earth-shattering developments here either, we're talking shit like, "How are there so many naked housewives in the world?" and "Is the Sim version of me happier than the real me?" I own everything the man has ever written now, having gone back and read what I had missed and bought everything that has come after it, save for his crappy fictional effort...
So if you need to blame someone for getting me started down this path and making me think I could one day be a real, live writer, blame Chuck Klosterman.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
10 Things I Learned This Week
Well nothing retarded happened this week like helping a guy who tried to kill himself or anything like that, which was a nice change after last week's experience. But it was an interesting week nonetheless, so let's get to it, shall we?
1. Summer is Over
Exactly when did this happen? It's August 31st. This is bullshit. I want a Do Over. I only made it to three Jays games, one fire at Shelby & Mark's, no trips to Midland to go boating and basically spent the whole time working. Ridiculous.
2. Three More Shifts, Then I'm Gone
Close the bar tonight, work a two hour day shift tomorrow and sling some slop Tuesday night and then it's adios Montana's for nearly three weeks, if not for good. Chances are I'll be back before we pack up our things and move somewhere new, but I got screwed on the schedule this week and kind of hate my manager right now for it, so we'll see.
3. BC is Looking More and More Likely
Like I said last week, we'll know more once we've gotten out there and toured around a bit - which we're going to do when we arrive - but every time we talk about the possibility, it seems like the logical choice. Sarah can make more money and I can hook up a job at one of the resorts where I should make enough cash to only need to work 8 months a year, which means four months a year to write... and procrastinate with Luke.
4. Loyalty Doesn't Exist in the Business World
Since starting at Montana's, there hasn't been a time that they've called me to come in that I have turned them down. I've done everything that has ever been asked of me and done so with a smile on my face. So what do I get in return? I lose the closing shift on Mondays that I've been working for two months on the holiday when I could actually make some great cash while the new hire who happens to be someone's little sister and the returning complainer each work a double. Classy Montana's... classy.
5. The Last Good Book I Read
Finished off Bret Hart's book Hitman this week and was fairly impressed. I know wrestling isn't everybody's thing, but it was mine for years, including Hitman's time in the ring and reading the behind the scenes stuff from that time was pretty cool. The family drama from The Hart Family was incredible too. Well done and recommended to anyone who every watched "The Excellence of Execution" operate inside the squared circle.
6. Can't Wait to Watch a Porno
No, not like that you sick fucks! Kevin Smith's latest, Zack and Miri Make a Porno starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. I watched the trailer the other day and nearly pissed myself. The fact that it's Silent Bob's flick would have made me see it regardless, since we all know I have a big ol' crush on him, but after seeing the trailer, I know want to see it twice as bad.
7. New Project, Part I
I started on the first few pages of a book this weekend and it will be taking priority over all other projects moving forward. Like I said earlier in the week, I'm doing too many things and need to start focusing on the ones that could yield some return, although I will still be blogging every day. I don't want to give anything away, but the feedback I've gotten on the idea thus far has all been positive and part of my BC trip will be spent pushing forward with this effort.
8. New Project, Part II
Some one you may have noticed the disappearance of the E. Spencer Kyte Facebook Fan Page this week. Let's be honest - none of you noticed and that's okay. I axed it because, well, it wasn't something I put any time into, but also because me and Newt are working on a little something that will be unveiled to the world soon and will serve the same purpose as the other page and then some.
9. No One Ever Pays Me
Thus far, I've had five articles published in four different magazines for two different publications. The only thing they have in common? I haven't been paid for any of them. The fine folks at FutureCore Media, Passion's Parent Company, refuse to return my messages and Canadian Sports Magazine has come up blank thus far. I'll give them a little more time, but as of now I'm not impressed.
10. Operation: 185 Update
Starting Weight: 204 lbs.
Last Update: 198 lbs.
Current Weight: 200 lbs.
It's about time nature took it's course. Considering I haven't done a workout in nearly three weeks (this week got written off too... just because), putting on two pounds isn't all that bad in my books. Not that I don't want to drop the pounds and tone it up real nice for the festivities next April, but there are other things that are taking priority right now. We'll get back at it soon enough...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Rundown: Yes, I Enjoy Reading
I find it incredible how many people think of reading as one of the most painful acts on the face of the Earth. To some people, if you gave them the option of sitting down and reading a 300 page book or having an anal probe, they would scoff at the notion of opening a book and bend over. To me, that just seems wrong.
All of this came to light again today as I sat in the bar at work, just hanging out, waiting to see if Juice (one of my managers) was going to need me to start. I had opened the bar as a "training exercise" and volunteered to sit tight in case we got busy. To occupy my time, I brought Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs.
Note: Not bad so far, especially when I only paid $4 for it at Chapters last week. Really, how bad would a book have to be to not be worth $4?
Of the collection of people in the restaurant at the time, one shared my love of books and Chapters, two were entirely non-committal and two were astounded that anyone would choose to open a book of their own free will, let alone make it through 56 pages in roughly an hour.
While I know my stance on this might be skewed by the fact that I intend to make my living (and hopefully a modest one at that) off people being interested in reading, the fact that reading makes some people's skin crawl is mind-blowing to me.
As the NBA taught me years ago through All-Star laden Public Service Announcements, Reading is Fun-damental!
Without reading, I never would have become a writer, because I never would have encountered the subjects of today's Rundown.
All-Time Top Five Books
5. Rebels of the Backlot by Sharon Waxman
As has been mentioned a time or two, I like movies. I also like books about movies or books that become movies, as you'll see shortly. This effort is a behind-the-scenes look into the careers of six of the biggest and brightest directors in Hollywood today - Tarantino, Sodderberg, David O. Russell, Spike Jonze and Paul Thomas Anderson. If you don't know these names, you (a) have missed some really good movies and (b) would absolutely hate this book. If you have any interest in Hollywood, the film industry or what it would be like to get into an argument with George Clooney while filming Three Kings, find this book and read it.
4. Everything Bad is Good for You by Stephen Johnson
As part of the video game, music video, Reality TV generation, I've been told countless times how all of today's technology and entertainment mediums and everything else in the world is making me dumber. Finding a book that actually proves that we're becoming smarter and more intellectually advanced as a result of all these things is outstanding. Seriously, this book is a well-researched middle finger to parents everywhere who told their kids that watching too much TV or playing too much Nintendo would rot their brains.
3. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Seeing the movie made me want to read the book. I loved the movie - it's #1 on the All-Time Top Five if you recall - and since the old standing truism is that the book is always better than the movie, I had to find out for myself. Since reading High Fidelity, I've read everything else Hornby has put out, except for his most recent effort Slam, since it's geared to teens and I'm painfully far removed from the teenage demographic. Anyway, the book was better than the movie, though not by much. Then again, it's my favourite movie ever, so being even a ounce better is pretty damn impressive.
2. Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley
Back-to-back book to movie adaptations near the top of the charts, where both hit the Top Five on my movie list too. While the movie rankings for these two efforts are reversed, Buckley's book has a lot more to offer that wasn't brought to the screen and therefore bests Hornby's best effort. Maybe having seen Aaron Eckhart play Nick Naylor so perfectly on screen influenced my enjoyment of the book. But if biases came into play, I would have hated the character Heather Holloway because Katie "Kate Cruise" Holmes brought her to life on camera and I downright loathe the former Joey Potter. That wasn't the case though. I loved everything about this book, including Ms. Holloway, dirty, scheming tramp that she is.
1. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Imagine opening a book and finding everything you have ever thought of on the pages before you. That is what this book is to me. I've wondered about the suddenly enormous amounts of "Housewife Sluts" willing to pose nude since the rise in cultural relevance of the Internet. I too have known since I first saw Say Anything that every woman wants to be with a guy like Lloyd Dobbler and I would never quite make it to his level of excellence. Klosterman seemingly tapped into my brain - or that of every other Pop Culture Obsessive with the attention span of a gnat - when putting together this collection. Everything he has done has struck a chord with me, but this one was first and it will probably always remain that way.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Book vs. Movie: Whose Side Are You On?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
10 Things I Learned This Week
Back on my own computer, sitting in my newly established "office" and ready to deliver.
Come and get it, bitches!
1. Patience
Seriously, I learned to be patient this week. Actually, somewhat overnight. Yesterday I was in a funk, stuck with the lingering thought that I won't ever get off my ass and write my book and might not amount to anything more than a movie jockey at Blockbuster who does a little writing on the side. Then I got off my ass this morning and hit Staples to get my portfolio put together and wrote two pieces for Bugs. Now I'm here doing this little number and it's not even 1:00 yet. I needed to feel miserable in order to remember that things aren't going to happen overnight and I can't control the written universe. I know - I'm a bit dramatic sometimes, eh?
2. My Head Isn't In It
There is no part of me that is conscientious about working at Blockbuster now. It is merely a distraction that interferes with every other aspect of my life. Case in point, I drove to work yesterday without my keys to lock up at the end of the night. Normally, I'm an anal retentive, overly prepared freak show who turns up for work 20 minutes early to see if there is anything I can help with. Now, here, I show up totally unprepared five minutes before I go on the clock. Not a good sign.
3. A Must Read
I started reading John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me earlier in the week and though I am only a handful of pages in, I feel obligated to tell everyone to read this book. Griffin, a white man, dyes his skin and lives a year as a Black man in the South, starting in October 1959. This could be one of those life changing books for me.
4. Tomorrow, I Relax
And by relax, I mean grab a seat in the upper deck of the Rogers Centre alongside my one-time roommate Beast and a couple friends watching the finale of the Blue Jays - Tigers series. I'm looking forward to this for many reasons: (1) "Beer and a Dog," (2) Beast is one of the funniest people I know and always entertaining, (3) it gives me a chance to price out a retro Blue Jays jersey so I know how much it'll cost when I try to convince Sarah that I really, really need one.
5. After Today, I'm Flying Solo
That ironic twist I told you about a couple weeks ago gets triggered today, as later this afternoon I'll be dropping Garry off at the airport in Hammertown for a three week jaunt to Calgary and Vancouver. While we haven't gotten the month of "bond building" I initially aimed for this to be, we've had a solid ten days and there is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be a smooth and enjoyable summer.
6. What is it with London and Homophobia?
One of the people I work with has insinuated twice that things I do - or don't do - are gay. My owning and drinking from a pink Brita water bottle caught me an awkward glance and curious questions. My refusal to move the two awareness bracelets that have adorned my left wrist for the better part of four years over to my right to cover my tattoo was met with the remark, "Why is it a gay thing?" That one got Person A the stink eye. It's 2008 and for chrissakes! Get over yourself and your hangups already...
7. Dinner Monday Night...
Harvey's! It's been too damn long since I sank my teeth into a bad-ass, made just the way you like it Harvey's Hamburger and Monday is going to be the end of that drought. Bacon Cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, relish, tomato, hot peppers and pickles... Delicious!
8. Apparently, I Have a Talent for Unpacking
Garry was quite impressed with how "industrious" (his word, not mine) I was on Thursday once my stuff arrived. We bombed it into the kitchen around noon and by the time he came home at five, I had pretty near everything unpacked, the room totally realigned to best optimize space and many of the little "feels like home" touches already in place, like Sarah's Mini Christmas Tree and a couple of framed pictures. This is what happens when you've moved as much as I have.
9. My Name is Spencer and I Have a Caffeine Dependency
Friday on the way to work I declined a coffee. I wasn't feeling well and just knew that a large double-double wasn't the cure that I needed. In my head, not having to go to boring-ass work was the cure I needed. All day long, my headache persisted. Ate food, drank water and nothing. Sitting after dinner, Garry tossed me the keys and told me to go to Starbucks. Twenty minutes later and three chugs into my Venti Komodo Dragon, headache gone. Good ol' caffeine to the rescue. The moral of this story: Coffee has healing powers!
10. How Cool Would It Be...
If I got to interview Ellen Page for the next issue of Passion? We're doing a Celebrity Issue next and in Spencer tradition, I started pitching assignment ideas to my editor a couple weeks ago. Then I watched Juno Tuesday night (and again Wednesday night with the Commentary) and got to thinking, "Hey, Ellen Page fits everything we're looking for. Canadian, celebrity, relevant, even buzz-worthy..." So I sent Nicole an email saying the same and am sitting here clinging to my pipe dream of picking up the phone in the next two weeks and having a conversation with Juno MacGuff. Is it going to happen? Probably not, but shit, what's the harm in hoping?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
10 Things I Learned This Week
Whirlwind Week is officially over. Here is what came from it ...
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Rundown: Resolutions Abound
Monday, December 10, 2007
I Should Buy Shares In Chapters
The amount of money that I spend in that place is absolutely ree-dick-you-lous!
Our plan for the day was to head into school so Sarah could sort out her exam situation and then meet Chad and Jeremy - two guys from her nursing class - at Starbucks / Chapters for a coffee and chit-chat. Surprisingly, we were on time and that was even with a mid-morning nap session on the couch for the recuperating one.
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